Attitudes toward cheating among business students at a private Kenyan university Maria Rosario Catacutan Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract Purpose – This study aims to investigate attitudes toward cheating among business students at a private university in Kenya and examine if a significant difference exists in cheating perceptions among students who have completed one or two ethics courses, and those who have done none. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 554 undergraduate business students participated in this research. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the one-way ANOVA. Findings – The results found that students perceived cheating in exam-related situations as quite serious, while cheating on written assignments was not considered a serious offence. Results of the one-way ANOVA indicate that there was a significant difference in the cheating perceptions ratings for the three groups. Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicate that the mean score for students who have done two ethics courses was significantly different from that of students who have done only one ethics course. Practical implications – This study has a number of implications for educators and administrators. Ethics instruction cannot achieve its desired effect on student behavior without institutional support. Administrators also need to be cognizant of the influence that school environment has on student cheating. Faculty and university administrators can influence students’ behavior in the way they practice academic integrity in their teaching and administrative functions. Originality/value – To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research is the first study to explore academic cheating at a private Kenyan university where ethics instruction is taught to undergraduate students. Keywords Kenya, Business ethics education, Academic dishonesty, Cheating Paper type Research paper Introduction Concerns about student cheating have become more pronounced as trends indicate increasing levels of academic dishonesty among university students (Jurdi et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2013; Tabsh et al., 2017). Studies show that cheating is pervasive and various forms of academic dishonesty have become prevalent among college students (McCabe et al., 2001; Teixeira and Rocha, 2010; Yazici et al., 2011; Ford, 2015; Nelson et al., 2017). Universities, on their part, cannot ignore cheating practices among its students. For one, cheating distorts the assessment of learning, which is a key element in establishing the academic standards of educational institutions (Biggs and Tang, 2007). If not effectively addressed, cheating could erode public trust in the quality of education provided in institutions of higher learning and put at stake university graduates’ employability in the job market. Several studies also suggest that cheating relates to students’ levels of academic stress arising from excessive workload, poor delivery of courses and inadequate learning materials (Kohn and Frazer, 1986; Whitley, 1998). Efforts, therefore, to address underlying causes of cheating would be beneficial as these issues inevitably relate to the quality of a school environment and its influence on students’ learning process. Finally, unchecked cheating in schools suggests a Attitudes toward cheating Received 2 January 2019 Revised 8 March 2019 Accepted 11 April 2019 Journal of International Education in Business © Emerald Publishing Limited 2046-469X DOI 10.1108/JIEB-01-2019-0001 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2046-469X.htm